Drive belts are quite commonly used to transmit power from motors and the like through gears or pulleys. These endless belts may be used to drive many types of powered devices including fans, generators, and other similar devices. A common usage is in the typical automobile where three or more belts may be used to drive such powered accessories as an air conditioner, power steering, power brakes, and other accessories. Belts are also used to drive the generator, and the fan which draws air in through the radiator to aid in cooling the engine. These drive belts are essential for the continuous operation of an automobile and if one of these should happen to break, the operator of the automobile may be stranded or experience a significant delay in his travel while the broken belt is replaced. Therefore, it would be very convenient to have a device which could be used as a substitute for these more important belts and which would be easy to install.
This problem has been recognized and there have been attempts at developing a replacement belt which is adjustable for use in a wide variety of lengths and which can be installed without the aid of special tools or the like usually unavailable to the typical traveller. Some of these include belts which have a wire mesh structure and a male connector with barbs (Jackson U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,156), a hollow tube with an insert coupling having external circular ribs (Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,971), a belt constructed of sections having a hollow female end and a toothed and pronged male end (Stirton U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,586), a tie strip with a plurality of louvered tongues to join the ends of belt stock (Schott U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,706), a belt connector with a flexible biting edge to fit into the ends of a hollow tube (Ogasawara, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,756), a continuous belt having a male and female end which requires glue (Beck U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,766), and one drive belt consisting entirely of a helically wound coiled spring (Gear U.S. Pat. No. 227,163 ). Most of these prior art devices require a specialized connector which is expensive to manufacture and which generally has a shoulder formed therein for insertion into a smaller diameter hollow tube. These connectors allow the rotation of the hollow tube relative to the connector and to the other end of the tube, which contributes to an increased wearing and shorter life. Furthermore, some of these devices are difficult to install because they require intricate structures to be matched up before insertion or even the application of glue. It should be remembered that most often, all that is available is a weak flashlight to provide light beneath the hood of the car. Therefore, it is important that installation can be easily accomplished with a minimum of effort and without the need of tools or meticulous handiwork.
Applicant has developed a universal replacement drive belt which is significantly less costly to produce, much easier to install and which has improved features over those available in the prior art. Applicant's drive belt includes a wire wound fastener having a semi-circular hooked head formed at each end thereof. These hooked heads slide easily into the hollow tube portion of the drive belt, even though they are slightly larger than the internal diameter of the hollow tube. This is possible becaue the hollow tube can bulge at the two places where the head contacts the tube whereas the prior art devices using connectors having oversized circular shoulders must bulge the entire circumference out of shape. This makes insertion of these prior art devices much more difficult, limits the diameter of the shoulders and therefore its holding power.
Once applicant's fastener is inserted, the hooked head serves a second purpose by digging into the sidewall of the hollow tube and anchoring the fastener in position. Thus, applicant's hollow tube and fastener may not be rotated with respect to each other while the prior art devices may be rotated unless they are fixed with glue or some other interlocking structure. The medial portion of the fastener is a helically wound coiled spring which permits the fastener and tubing to flex and twist with respect to each other but also provides a force which tends to return them to their original positions. In the prior art, these connectors are rigid and provide no flexing between the various parts so that any twisting or pulling forces tend to loosen the connector as the belt is used.
These and other advantages of applicant's universal drive belt may be more fully understood by referring to the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment which follows.